though spiritually He would be present with them always.

12. It was so timely, because (as He now declares) it would serve for a burial anointing, though Mary knew it not. And it was not thought extravagant to lay out large expense upon the dead body, for its anointing and embalming. (Christ cannot be present bodily in the sacrament of the Supper.) Nicodemus (John 19. 39) brought a hundred pounds weight for Christ's embalming. It was no loss therefore, in respect of the poor (vs. 11), nor of the disciples (Mark 14. 7), nor of the woman (vs. 13), nor of Christ (vs. 12). Christ here further warned of his death as so near.

13. This gospel--which Christ preached, and which was destined to be promulgated throughout the world. This narrative, He says, should go with the narratives of His sufferings and death, as a memorial-for the remembrance of her-to celebrate this act of piety. It should show what true Christian devotion will do for Christ, as well as what Christ has done for us. This has proved true. The scripture is inspired by God, and everything is told by Divine direction. Three of the evangelists have recorded this account of Mary.

14. Then. This rebuke of Judas for his interference with Mary's piety, prompted him to plot for the betrayal of Christ, though it was not the sole impulse. He was urged on by his covetousness and worldly ambition.- To the chief priests. Luke adds, " and captains"-or leaders of

f

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

fc.10.4. g Zec.11.12,13. c.27.3.

the temple guards-heads of the watch. He went to bargain with them. He may have heard of their meeting together (vs. 3) at that time, and for the purpose of taking Christ and putting him to death.

15. Deliver Him-hand Him over. Such a proposal directly fell in with their wishes, and the objects of their meeting. It does not seem to have been their plan, but that of Judas. They wished to take him and kill Him (vs. 4), but they had planned to defer it. lest it might raise a tumult at the passover. This hastened the work.

-¶ They covenanted-literally, they placed (in a scale), weighed or paid: bargained and agreed at once. Mark says, "promised to give him money". to pay him the amount when the deed was done.- - Thirty pieces of silver

or shekels. This was the price of a slave. Exod. 21. 32. And this is probably the ground on which the sum was fixed. The amount is computed at fifteen or sixteen dollars (?), The prophecy was also fulfilled (Zech. 11. 12), "So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver." So was every minute particular the same as had been foreseen and predicted. Nothing in the death of Christ was without design or calculation. If the silver pieces were numbered beforehand, why not the souls that should be saved?

16. To betray Him--to deliver Him over to the chief priests, by treachery. The opportunity sought was "the absence of the multitude." Luke 22. 6.

OBSERVE, (1.) A man without the

wedding garment. A slothful servant-a foolish virgin—a hypocrite is here. Under a pious pretence was concealed the most base malignity. He was a thief (John 12. 6)—a traitor-a murderer of Christ-and yet the treasurer of the twelve! Our being in the church does not make us safebut our being in Christ. (2.) He who talks of loss upon Christ, is himself the son of perdition. He who thinks forty dollars too much to waste on Christ's anointing, will take sixteen dollars to betray Him to death! (3.) Behold the depth of human depravity! Judas, who had lived with Christ, and had seen His miracles, and had ranked with the apostles, and must declare Him innocent at last, could hand him over to a cruel death, for the paltriest price. (4.) Temptation to sin is no excuse for sin, no matter how strong it he--no matter if by Satan himself. Judas volunteered to betray Christ. It was his own proposal to the chief priests. Sinners act willingly in yielding to temptation, and this is the condemnation. (5.) Those who are in danger from temptation, should mark the dreadful lengths to which they may be carried, if they yield at all. They should resist at the onset. And while we resist we should pray, "lead us not into temptation." And we have the promise, "Resist the devil and he shall flee from thee." (6.) Money is a snare. They who set their hearts upon it, fall into "many foolish and hurtful lusts, that drown men in destruction and perdition."

132. PREPARATION FOR THE PASSOVER. FIFTH day of the week. Jerusalem. Bethany.

26. 17-19 14. 12-16 22. 7-13

17. Feast of unleavened bread. It was so called, because, as the bread had not time to be leavened when the Lord appeared for their deliverance

sus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

out of Egypt, they baked unleavened cakes out of the dough. (Exod. 12. 39.) And so, bread made with leaven or yeast, was strictly forbidden during the feast. The feast lasted from the 14th to the 21st (evening to evening), and the evening of the 14th was called the first-the fermented things having been removed during the day. (Exod. 12. 6, 15.) This feast was called the Passover, because, at that time, the paschal lamb was slain and eaten, in commemoration of their deliverance in Egypt. Luke says, "the day of unleavened bread, in which the passover must be killed." Thus, the lamb was also called "the passover;" as Christ says, "This is my body." They were wont to keep the feast in companies—a family or two together. The houses in Jerusalem were thrown open, for the immense crowd from all the land.

How remarkable a company was this of the twelve, with the Master, in a guest-chamber, or spare room. The feast took place in the month Abib, which is our April. After the usual washings or purification, the master of the family, or chief guest, proceeded to give thanks; after which, the first cup of wine was partaken by all present. Then came the washing of hands, with a blessing. Next came the provisions for the table-bitter herbs, unleavened bread, the lamb roasted whole (no bone broken), and the sauce. Then another thanksgiving, taking an herb and dipping it in the sauce, to eat it with all present. (vs. 23.) The table was then removed from before the master of the feast only, who rehearsed openly the deliverance from Egypt. (1 Cor. 11. 26. Exod. 12. 17; 13. 8.) Then the second cup of wine was filled, and the question was asked by the children (Exod. 12. 26, 29), to which the master of the feast would respond, as the dishes were returned-repeating Ps. 113 and 114. Then the second cup of wine was

18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep

partaken, after the usual blessing. Then followed the blessing for the washing of hands, and a second washing took place. (John 13. 4, 5, 12.) Then he took two cakes and brake one of them, and, with the usual form, blessed the bread. The bread was then distributed, saying: "This is the bread of affliction, which our fathers did eat in the land of Egypt;"—instead of which, Christ said, "This is my body broken." Then all ate, such as chose dipping their portion into the sauce. (vs. 23. John 13. 26.) The master next blessed God, and ate of the paschal lamb, in which the whole company joined. Then the third cup was blessed and drank, called "the cup of blessing." (26, 27. 1 Cor. 10. 16.) And this was followed by thanksgiving for their fathers' deliverance, for the covenant of circumcision, and for the law of Moses. Hence, at this cup the Saviour said, "This cup is the new testament," or covenant. A fourth cup was then usually filled, and a song or hymn sung. (vs. 30.)

The Jews were to remember at this feast, their deliverance, in the destruction of the firstborn in Egypt, when they were passed over-and their departure out of the land of bondage. The lamb slain at the passover, represented Christ," the Lamb of God." A room for the feast was necessary to be prepared, and it could be had, for the houses in Jerusalem on this great occasion, were always thrown open to the public.

18. Into the city. Jerusalem was the city by eminence, among the Jews. The festival was kept there by law. The paschal lamb must be slain by the priests at the temple (Ezra 6. 20), and each company received it slain, from their hands, for the solemnity.

-T To such a man. Mark and Luke say, "there shall meet you a man." Luke adds, "when ye are entered into the city." This, like the

the passover at thy house with my disciples.

19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and

case of the ass tied (Matt. 21. 2), showed the omniscience of Christ. They were to identify the man by such a coincidence which none but a Divine mind could foresee. Luke says that Peter and John were sent. They must needs be impressed with the fact, that the Master knew, beforehand, all the minutest particulars. Their faith needed all strengthening for the trial at hand. The Master saith. The man was probably a disciple.¶ My time. That which He had called His hour. He had often said, "Mine hour has not yet come." In John 7.6, 8, this word is used in the same sense as here. "My time is not yet come," and "not yet full come."

But

19. They made ready. They obtained the lamb and all the articles_necessary for keeping the feast. The room was found furnished and prepared (Mark 14. 16). Our Lord partook the passover on the same night in which He was betrayed. This was His last meal with His disciples, the regular and ordinary paschal supper of the Jews, on the evening after the 14th day of Nisan. this introduced the festival of unleavened bread, which lasted seven days. This is what John refers to (13. 17), the feast, or rather festival (coprn), of the passover. (See Numb. 28. 16, 17.) This is distinct from the paschal supper, but from not noticing the terms, has been confounded with it. The passage in John 18. 28, might seem to decide that on the day of the crucifixion, the paschal supper had not yet been eaten. But as the term "passover was often used to include all the feasts and festivals appertaining to it, and especially the festival of unleavened bread, and as here, there is nothing to restrict the sense to the eating of the paschal lamb, it is warrantably taken in the wider sense. (See Luke 22. 1. Matt. 26. 2. John 2. 13.) There were other paschal

they made eady the passover. 20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto

sacrifices connected with the passover, but less public. Special daily sacrifices were appointed for the seven days and there was a voluntary private sacrifice-a festive thank-offering. It is observed that in the phrase, "the preparation of the passover," John 19. 14, the word rapаokɛvn (pre

you, that one of you shall betray me.

22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

paration) refers, as elsewhere, to the Jewish sabbath, which actually occurred the next day after the crucifixion. It was at length employed as the term for the whole sixth day of the week, or Friday. It was the weekly Tapaσkεvn Οι προσάββατον that John referred to. (See Robinson's Harmony. Notes.)

20. The even. Between 3 o'clock and 9 was the time for killing the lamb, called also, between the evenings (Exod. 12. 6) in the Hebrew.

The twelve were the apostles.¶ Sat down-literally, reclined, as was the posture at table. (See Exod. 12.3,4, as to the number who generally ate the feast together.) Though the passover was at first eaten "standing," the posture was afterward changed to reclining, as a token of rest and security. Luke records the contention of the twelve at this time, and our Lord's instructions to them, at the same time.

134. Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. Same evening. Mark.

Matt.

Luke.

John.

13. 1-20

He

"which eateth with me." John says, "He was troubled in spirit." knew who it was, as He knew all the particulars with utmost exactness, because He was God as well as man, "knowing all things that should come upon Him." (John 18. 4.) Still He did not conceal Himself, because He designed to die, and for this cause He came unto this hour. The eternal purposes of God are accomplished thus by wilful and wicked men. (Acts 2. 23.) "Him being delivered," &c.

22. This was the most definite announcement of His death, in the diabolical manner of it, and they were sorry—“exceeding sorrowful"- -on every account-both that He should die, and that it should be by such means. That it should be by any one of them, amazed and overcame them. Like innocent men, the whole eleven were agitated, and not knowing what they were to be left to, began to inquire most earnestly. It was worse for one of them than for any other, because they had seen His miracles and character, and had professed the closest attachment to Him. One of them knew who the betrayer was, and he, Judas himself, was the last to inquire about the guilty person.